Naval Aviation Museum

The Naval Aviation Museum is a military museum located in Bogmalo, 6 km from Vasco da Gama, Goa, India. This museum contains exhibits that showcase the evolution of the Indian Naval Air Arm over the decades. The museum is divided into two main parts, an outdoor exhibit and a two-storeyed indoor gallery. The Museum was inaugurated in October 1998 and is one of the Two Military Aviation Museums in India, the other being the Indian Air Force Museum, Palam in Delhi.

This Naval Aviation Museum established in Oct’1998 is the only one of its kind in the whole of Asia. May be perhaps, it has not received the publicity it rightly deserves and hence remained unvisited and unseen by many Goans. Situated atop a plateau overlooking the wide expanse of the Arabian Sea where from you can get to see the Bogmalo Beach, the Naval Aviation Museum is divided into two sections, one that is out-door in the open air and the other that is housed indoors. As one enters the Main Gate, one is welcomed by the site of the huge ‘Super Constellation’ standing like a sentinel keeping a watch over the entire place. This Aircraft was first used by the Indian airlines for transporting passengers, later on it was passed on to the Air Force for use as a transport craft. Thereafter the Navy borrowed the same from the

Air Force and till now lies in their custody, though de-commissioned. As you walk into the outdoor section of the museum you are greeted on the left by the display of the various Aircraft engines like the Sea Hawk, Helicopter engine, Sealand Aircrafty engine and an old Fire Engine too used by the Navy in the early 60′s. As you move a little further there are the seven different aircraft on display.Tracing the history and evolution of Indian Navy over the years, the museum has an expansive and comprehensive collection. The outdoor display in itself is huge with 13 decommissioned aircrafts on display like the Fairey Firefly, a British fighter and anti-submarine aircraft, dating back to World War II. The indoor collection is spread over the two-storey gallery. You can read up on significant battles that have been fought over the decades by Indian Navy and Airforce and get to see weapons that are typically attached to submarine and ships as well as cannons, torpedoes, bombs and sensors used by Indian Navy.

The exhibits that catch the eye after entering the inner exhibit are the huge models of INS Vikrant and INS Virat in the room. The rest of the rooms are designed keeping INS Virat’s interior in mind. The various rooms that are present are – The Armament Room, The Sonobuoys Room, The Attire Room, and The Suraksha Room. These rooms are built for displaying missiles/warheads, sensors, evolution of the uniforms and protection gears used in the navy and air forces. There is also the Room of Silence used for meditation and Shradhanjali (Tribute Room) where tribute is paid to the soldiers who fought for India from 1958-97.

Another attraction that no one should miss is the Multimedia Room that holds games and simulators. The simulator allows a visitor to feel like he’s sitting inside the cockpit of a fighter plane and is a huge hit. After all who hasn’t dreamt of being a fighter pilot in her/his childhood? There is also a souvenir shop that allows you to takes back keys, caps, wallets, amongst others as remembrance .